Food Posioning

[bumper]

oOguy I have purchased food at Lotus for seven years and never had a problem before. I will present the facts as I see them and you be your own judge. I was in the hospital past few weeks. I originally thought it was because of some beans I cooked. Later I relaized I was already ill, when I cooked and ate them. With a low cholestrol diet, I was eating a lot of ceral with milk.

The milk was Dutch Milk pasteurized Low Fat MilK. Purchased al Lotus I wasn't sure so I didn't say anything.

Since I had recovered I went back to low cholseterol diet last night. had cereal with the milk named above. Purchased earlier in the day at Lotus. last evening. At 0100 I woke up dihyadrated. Mouth throat like the desert. Woke up the morning with the exact feeling I had in the early stages last time. So I'm sick now I went to the Phamarmacy to start the treatement and hopefully avoid another trip to the hospital we will see.

I checked the milk this morning it was bad, I dumped it immediately with any luck I'm ahead of the game this time. the lable says it will expire 21, 09, 09 It was bad on the 11 th. Labeling mistke I don't know?

Look I'm no doctor so I may be completly wrong. I just know what I have experienced and nothing more. So use your own judgement, if your going to use the milk make sure you test it for smell everyday before you drink it.

I want everyone to understand this is not a complaint about Lotus. I'm still going to shop there. But, I will be very careful about the milk I buy in the future. Hopefully maybe this will help to avoid a very unpleasant experience in the future.

[papaguido]

Wow, didn't know you could get seriously ill from drinking spoiled milk.

Generally speaking, most people, after the first taste of spoiled
milk, spit it out, and/or do not continue drinking any more. This
greatly decreases the risk of potential illness.....

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=581005

We usually buy Meiji brand milk, quite often the milk is still fresh a few days past the expiration date.

[Aardvark]

Drink the fresh stuff and don't worry even if it is full cream. The amount you drink in one day will do very little to affect your cholesterol levels, it's the animal fats on your Steak, Pork, Chicken that should be avoided !! That long life stuff in the boxes is no good for you, avoid it !!

[laphanphon]

hey, i like UHT milk, though know has less vitamins in it, but don't have to worry about getting sick. had quite a few fresh milks turn way before their date. also, i foget which, but one milk manufacturer has a seal on top between milk and cap. as you will notice and smell, they don't do a very good job of sanitation on the bottles/caps. the stores let the milk sit out too long on docks in heat, and also the coolers aren't nearly cold enough. so the one with the seal is a better choice. i only buy UHT now only for that reason, and i think it tasted better and same or cheaper price. or the 5 liter bottle at makro, if knowing i'll be drinking a bit and eating cereal.

UHT, if not knowing, simply stands for 'ultra high temp', cooked little longer and higher, kills everything that will make the milk turn, thus the 20 yr shelf life. used to buy it as a back up, in case i ran out of milk, now with few exceptions it's the only milk i buy.

as far as the vitamin content, regular milk, kept warm, in sun, exposed to simple light will destroy the vitamin content, as if i would believe anything they say is in there to start with. don't think their is much verifying of any labels here, including expiration dates. rays case, fresh milk supposed to be good for 10 days, turns 1st day.........hmm. 10 days is a long time for any milk, even under good conditions.

[JimboPSM]

I only ever get the fresh milk (don’t know which brands) normally at Lotus or Big C, very occasionally at Tops.

In my experience (with no scientific tests to prove it), milk is one of the products which:

• 1. Goes off more quickly if its temperature is allowed to rise.
  
  2. Only lasts a couple of days once it has been opened.

When shopping in Udon (and in the UK as well) it is the last thing that I pick before going to checkout, I then try to keep it cool in the car (in a cool box) and get it back into the fridge asap.

Based on the smell test (which I use on all food), I have never been able to get milk to last more than two days in Thailand (three days in the UK).

[Stef]

I drink a lot of milk, although I can't stand the taste here in Thailand so mix it with a little choc UHT for flavour. I think most people can smell gone off milk instantly, but if you have a cold/blocked nose you won't. Some good info on here, none of the super markets here will bag your cold items together, even if you place them together on the conveyor-belt. I stand there re-bagging everything, apart from using a coolbox the next best thing is bag them all together, tie knots and knick a couple more bags and triple up (all knotted). Not only is the outside temp a big prob, but look how hot the inside of your car is on return. Keep your cold items in front (not boot) and out of sun for journey home, and make that the first items that go away.

Is your fridge up high enough?

In six months I have only had to throw out one container of milk, I always look for a min. 9 days and reach to the back for the coldest, the one I'd thrown out had been opened the day before, and had 8 days left, so it's gonna happen, I also use a variety of manufacturers generally going for the best date.

Get well soon Bumper

[Roy]

I think the general issue of food poisoning is a good thread Bumper as it is something that should not be taken lightly.
Like many of the male population I need to be three quarters dead before I will go anywhere near a doctor or hospital and on the one occasion I contracted food poisoning here I foolishly carried on that tradition.
Day 1, 2 & 3 headache, fever, stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhea, couldn't hold down even a sip of water. Wife "Must go see doctor", me "no I will be OK"
Day 4 & 5 Fever down a little and can sometimes hold down a little liquid. Wife "Must go see doctor", me "no I will be OK"
Day 6 Fever and everything else returns with a vengeance, very, very sick indeed. Me "Take me to the hospital, I'm dying", wife "I tell you that"
The doctor thought I was a complete idiot for waiting so long and I have to agree with him, I was. Straight on to a drip for severe dehydration and some strong antibiotics, started to feel better within hours.

I am relatively young and fit but I would advise older members of the community not to hesitate in seeking medical assistance if you have these kind of symptoms much earlier than I did as the consequences could be much worse.

[Galee]

We usually buy Meiji brand milk, quite often the milk is still fresh a few days past the expiration date.

Meiji is the brand I drink, prefer the taste and never had a problem with it, even when it's been opened and in the fridge for about 5 days. When buying i go through all the containers to find the one with the latest expiration date on it.

[wazza]

The highest standard Food Safety Course you can do in the Uk is found here,

http://www.food-safety-training.net/lev ... food_s.htm

A very intense course and heaps of reading on this site .

Temperature is 1 of the Key HACCP ( Hazzard Analysis Critical Control Points ) for all food safety.

Even KFC advertise the importance of HACCP in Thailand,

Did the truck carrying the milk to Tescos break down on the way for 6 hours, didnt tell tesco, fudged the temp gauges on the truck monitoring system .....

[polehawk]

Whatever brand of milk you choose, be careful and don't yank one of those in the front row. Check the date! I know a guy who got pissed off when the cashier put his two six packs of beer under the counter because it was 14:05 hours and walked off, leaving a cart full of groceries including the milk because they were in line before that bewitching hour. Who can say when it was placed back in the cooler?

A little closer to home. Bought a pizza slice, with pepperoni, at the bakery section of Carrefour last week and gave me a supreme case of the shitz with accompanying severe stomach cramps. Non-refrigerated offering. Be careful what you ingest.

[bumper]

I m ay have gotten licky this time since it was fresh on my mind I recgnized what was happening and got the meds already had the drink for elcorolites. Sick a a dog all day seond ingetion of the meds strting to feek much better, Kept it to toast all day adb k jsut laid down and reeeste3d, We will see how it goes tomorrow.

I can smell milk going bad in a instant, now matter how many times I try to teach my wife, she can't recognize it so we have new rule any milk I test before use. Ne ver had anthinbg last more then four days, Her idea is if it's still in the bottle it must but good. She used to think i was nuts pouring out milk. But I think she has he picture now.

I will definetly look for a different brands two such experiences, is such a short time frame I won't cahnce that again. I went to powdered milk for my coffee. I have always drinked low fat milk, doesn't have thing to do with the diet. Dry cereal doesn't taste all that great. I have always been really picky about pork and chicken I want it burnt to a crisp. That seems to work in most cases.

I don't think Thai's really understand milk as we do, they seem to drink very little of it.

But you guys are right if it hasn't been stored properly and allowed to stay in the heat for any reason it's shelf life is destroyed.

I plan on being much more careful in the future.